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At 50 Campfires, we love foil packet meals. They are a great way to go when you’re preparing campfire meals for yourself, for you and a camping partner, your family, or an entire camping crew.
The advantages of foil packets at the campfire are many:
- You don’t have to bring much along except the ingredients and the foil.
- It’s easy to adjust quantities – just make what you need.
- Cooking to individual tastes is easy – if somebody doesn’t like beans, you just don’t include them in his/her foil packet.
- Cleanup is super simple – just ball up the cooking vessels (and serving plates for that matter), dispose of properly, and on to the toasting of the marshmallows.
On a recent winter camp out, we decided to come up with a 5-course meal that’s all cooked in and served from foil packets. It was delicious.
How To Make Foil Packets
- Lay a large sheet of heavy-duty foil or a double layer of regular foil on a flat surface.
- Spray food side of foil with light coating of cooking spray.
- Put the ingredients in the center of the foil, well away from the edges.
- Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold at least twice to seal.
- Fold in the sides to seal, leaving space for steam to expand inside the packet.
- Place packet on a bed of coals and turn often to cook both sides. Another option is to bury in coals – then there’s no need to turn and cooking time will be a bit less.
- When done, remove from fire, open carefully, check seasoning, and enjoy.
Course 1
Foil Packet Appetizer – Baked Olives
This recipe is deceptively simple and even more deceptively delicious. You’ll look at that olive bar in the grocery store with even more respect and delight. Just don’t try this with canned or jarred olives packed in water. You need the real deals in olive oil from the deli section. Stock up before you head to the campsite.
Author: 50 Campfires
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed deli olives packed in oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Pour olives onto sheet of foil.
- Add garlic cloves.
- Add pepper flakes an mix.
- Fold up and seal foil packet.
- Cook on grate above campfire coals turning often for 15 minutes.
- Fun to serve with toothpicks. Just open foil packet in middle of picnic table and let everyone stab and eat the olives they want.
Course 2
Foil Packet Entree – Hawaiian Chicken
Whether to include the zucchini in this recipe is up to you. Some of our testers thought they were pickles and didn’t think they belonged in a “tropical” recipe. But that’s the beauty of foil packet cooking. Each person only needs to include the ingredients he/she likes in his/her packet.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup of sweet, thick BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 15-oz. can of pineapple rings, with natural juice
- 1 Tbs. brown sugar
- 2 tsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced about ⅜-inch thick
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place each chicken breast in center of large sheet of foil.
- In mixing bowl, combine BBQ sauce, red wine, ¼-cup of pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder. (Reserve about ¼ cup).
- Paint both sides of chicken breast with mixture.
- Add some zucchini slices and two pineapple rings on top of each chicken breast.
- Drizzle on more sauce.
- Fold and seal packets.
- Cook on grate above campfire coals for about 15 minutes, flipping at least once about half way through cooking. Or cook among coals for about 10 minutes, flipping often.
- Open packets carefully and add reserved sauce and serve.
Course 3
Foil Packet Side Dish – Mixed Vegetables
This one is so simple and so easy, you may decide to cook your mixed vegetables this way at home, just substituting your regular oven for the campfire. And you can choose between premixed vegetables or selecting your favorites and mixing them yourself. The addition of the goat cheese steps it up a notch wherever you make this recipe.
Author: 50 Campfires
Ingredients
- Pour bag of frozen vegetables on center of large sheet of foil.
- Cut butter into pads about ¼-inch thick, and space evenly over pile of vegetables.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold up and seal the packet.
- Cook among coals of campfire turning often for about 10-12 minutes.
- Carefully open top of packet so it forms a bowl to contain the vegetables.
- Crumble in chunks of goat cheese evenly over vegetables.
- Fold the foil loosely back in place and heat on grate above coals until cheese begins to melt.
Instructions
- Pour bag of frozen vegetables on center of large sheet of foil.
- Cut butter into pads about ¼-inch thick, and space evenly over pile of vegetables.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold up and seal the packet.
- Cook among coals of campfire turning often for about 10-12 minutes.
- Carefully open top of packet so it forms a bowl to contain the vegetables.
- Crumble in chunks of goat cheese evenly over vegetables.
- Fold the foil loosely back in place and heat on grate above coals until cheese begins to melt.
Course 4
Foil Packet Side Dish – Savory Rice
The optional ingredient in this one is the wine. If all you have on hand is red wine and you’re not into pink or purple rice, then just swap in an extra quarter cup of stock. With a dry white wine, there’s just a hint of extra sophistication some like … and some don’t.
Author: 50 Campfires
Ingredients
- 1 cup instant rice
- ¾ cup stock (chicken, beef, vegetable, seafood – whatever you like)
- ¼ cup wine (whatever you like)
- salt and pepper to taste
- butter
Instructions
- In large bowl, combine the rice and liquid ingredients.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Let stand for five minutes.
- Drain any liquid that hasn’t been absorbed into rice.
- Place rice evenly onto four sheets of aluminum foil.
- Fold and seal LOOSE packets around rice, allowing room for rice to expand as it cooks.
- Cut a couple of small holes on top of each packet to allow steam to escape as they cook.
- Place packets with holes up on bed of hot coals.
- Cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove and carefully open packets. Add pad of butter to each and allow it to melt in.
Course 5
Foil Packet Dessert – Stuffed Apples
This one is based on a pretty classic camping recipe for Dutch Oven baked apples, but the foil packets work out just as well. For some added creaminess you can top these with some of the leftover goat cheese from the vegetable recipe or some plain or vanilla yogurt.
Author: 50 Campfires
Ingredients
- (makes enough for about four apples)
- 1 large apple per person
- 1 half stick softened butter
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. allspice
Instructions
- Mix together dry cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice at home and bring to camp in zipper bag.
- Mix together all ingredients except apple in a small mixing bowl at camp, set aside.
- Hollow out cores from apples, but leaving some flesh at bottom of well so stuffing doesn’t run out.
- Pack the opening with stuffing mixture.
- Wrap each apple in individual foil packet.
- Bake on grate above campfire coals for about 30 minutes. Nestle among the coals at back for about 15-20 minutes.
